My Dear Watson
by BrightGrey
Summary: 'So does this make me Watson' Unintentional second chapter now up- can follow on or can stand alone, based off the spoilers for Berlin with a little Sherlock thrown in as my inspiration. Knowledge/enjoyment of any Sherlock not necessary but could be a little bonus for fans. 'Can't tell me that's not a quote from a book' 'No, but Sherlock Holmes was orinially a book, so...'
1. Chapter 1

_A.N/ So here we go, just a little something that came to me when reading the latest Tiva Spoilers. Enjoy!_

* * *

'So does this make me Watson?'

Ziva was instantly snapped out of her deep concentration at the sound of her partner's voice. She spun around to see him brazenly walking through the door of her spare room. She hadn't even heard him pick her lock never mind traipse through her apartment to get here, and Tony had never been the quietest person in the world. _You're slipping _she berated herself. That was one thing she certainly couldn't afford to do, especially now, not with things...the way they were.

Ziva's brow furrowed in confusion, both at his question and his presence here. His name was just forming on her lips when he continued, he hadn't even looked directly at her, although she guessed that he might have been watching her for a while. _This is not good. _Tony walked casually around the room, taking it all in, occasionally allowing his fingers to ghost along a thread. Ziva searched his face, though he kept it mainly turned away from her, outwardly he appeared absolutely nonplussed. Well, she certainly wasn't expecting this reaction.

'I guess always saw myself as Holmes, you know? Awesome detective skills, scrappy fighter,' here he threw a quick jab cross to demonstrate 'well, in the Guy Ritchie versions anyway, and not to mention devilishly handsome.' He commented, turning to face her now, grin firmly in place, eyebrow raised, just daring her to reply. None came.

She watched in silence as his careful grin, which she noticed didn't quite reach his eyes, slipped and the false bravado that he had worked so hard to keep in place, slowly drained from him in a deep sigh.

'What's going on here Ziva?'

She took two slow, controlled breaths before she replied, inwardly berating herself for not hearing him, for not stopping him entering this room, for not preventing him from ruining week's worth of careful, detailed planning.

'You can't stop me, Tony.'

'What even is this Ziva?' he asked, throwing his arms wide and glancing quickly around at the room. 'This is some serious _A Game of Shadows _type shit you got going on here!' His voice was void of anger, void of any emotion really and that scared her more than she would like to admit, but the last comment ignited the anger that had been bubbling deep inside her for months now.

'A movie reference! Are you actually serious right now Tony?'

'Well I've ever seen this type of thing _in _movies Ziva! I mean really? The whole strings and corkboard thing?' he exclaimed, gesticulating wildly at the complex web of intel reports, photos and notes connected by long lengths of string. 'What the- what the hell is going on?'

Ziva chose to ignore his last question, pretending she hadn't even heard way his voice had cracked slightly on his first attempt and the way all the fire left his body once again. This time when she spoke she avoided his eyes and spoke quietly in soulless, monotonous tone.

'In Mossad we learnt to use what was available. I could hardly have McGee create something on the computer.'

Tony was noticed the way she avoided his eyes, saw the way subconsciously wrapped her arms protectively around herself. She was retreating again, back into that near emotionless shell he hadn't seen since her father's death. No, he wasn't letting her get away that easily.

Ziva tensed when she saw him move forward but didn't move from her spot in the corner of the room. Tony approached her slowly, gently brushing her hair out of her face while simultaneously seeking out her right hand with his left. He watched her carefully, half afraid she would startle and take flight like the starlings he had spent hours watching as a child on his visits to his grandfather in England. He his heart swelled in his chest when instead she intertwined her fingers with his and finally met his eyes. He gently stroked her cheek and they both let out a shaky breath.

'At lo levad, Ziva' he whispered, lowering his head slowly until his forehead rested against hers. _I love you _he wanted to say. But now was not the time, for now she just needed him to be there, their feelings towards each other could be discussed another time, it was not fair to overwhelm her with that now, when was already so conflicted. He felt her eyelids flutter and a single tear slipped down her cheek.

Gently, slowly Tony moved, pulling Ziva into his embrace. Listening to his heart beat she let a few more tears escape down her cheeks.

'Please don't try to stop me Tony. I need to do this. Not just for my father but...for me.'

Trying desperately to fight down his crippling fear of losing her and slow his hammering heart, Tony could only pull her closer.

'Fine, but I refuse to let you do this alone. We're a team, we need you. I...' He raised his eyes to the ceiling and swallowed back the tears, glad that she could not see his face from their current position. 'I need you.'

Despite his best efforts his voice caught and Ziva pulled back just enough to see his face, staring deep into his eyes.

Neither could deny the emotion they saw reflected in the other's eyes. _Love. _But now was not the time for declarations, those would be saved for happier times, when both had their heads straight, when the ominous clouds that hung over them presently had dissipated, when they were free to openly love and be loved.

Neither could tell what the coming weeks and months would bring. Demons lurked menacingly in the shadows that would have to be confronted soon or later. For now though, this was enough, to hold the other, to feel their heartbeat next their own and to know that they were _safe. _

'Tony?' Ziva murmured minutes later, not moving from her position tucked under his chin.

'Hmm?'

'I need you too...my dear Watson,'

Tony just smiled.

_Phoof._

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_Hope you enjoyed! Please favourite/review or 'stroke my plummage' as Tony might put it! xox_


	2. Chapter 2

_Because this idea just wouldn't leave me alone, here you are: the unintentional second chapter of My Dear Watson. Doesn't necessarily follow on, particularly as Chapter 1 clearly didn't happen but can do if you want it to. _

_Also it doesn't totally fit with the promo, I wrote it before but there you go!_

_Thanks for all the support so far, reviews and follows ad favourites (oh my!) mean the world to me! 3_

_Disclaimer: Yeah I wish I owned these characters, sadly neither they, nor the show are mine._

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'You know, considering you used to be a spy and all, you're not being real subtle tonight Ziva'

It was whispered directly in to her ear, but rather than the words it was his warm breath and the resulting shiver that ran down her spine that snapped her out of her reverie.

'Hmm?'

Tony smiled as she turned on the bar stall to gaze questioningly up at him. His eyes made a quick journey down her figure, drinking her in for the millionth time that night. _God, she looked beautiful._ His heart had nearly stopped when she had finally emerged from the hotel bathroom that evening having disappeared in there following their nightly check in Gibbs and McGee back in DC.

* * *

_'We have reason to believe he'll be at this bar' Gibbs paused as he waited for McGee to put the picture up on screen 'tonight for some kind of meeting, we don't know with whom.'_

_'The emails we managed to intercept were heavily encrypted,' McGee joined in 'it took me and Abbs forever just to get the address of the bar. We'll keep working on it, but it's a long shot.' He smiled apologetically. _

_'So we're going in blind,' Tony muttered unhappily, crossing his arms in front of his chest._

_Ziva watched him with concern out of the corner of her eye, breathing deeply before leaning closer to the screen, hands clasped in front of her._

_'Is there nothing else to give us any indication as to whom he is meeting tonight?'_

_McGee and Gibbs shared a worried glance before Gibbs exhaled harshly, shifting on his feet slightly as McGee replied. 'No, we're sorry Ziva, we'll keep at it but-'_

_'-but it's a long shot.' Ziva sighed. 'Ok McGee, we appreciate it, just...just keep looking, ok, please?_

_'Of course, Ziva'_

_'Ok, we should get ready if we want to get to the bar before him-'_

_'Ziva?' Gibbs called, shifting uncomfortably on his feet again, it was clear he was no happier with this situation than they were. 'You two are pretty much on your own out there. I want you on each other's six at all times, ya hear? If anything happens to either of you you'll have me to answer to. And DiNozzo?' He snapped, seeing Tony staring down at the table, teeth clenched. Tony finally looked up as his Boss addressed him but Ziva was concerned to see a tight lipped smile on his lips and his brow furrowed. He was clearly angry and though Ziva was puzzled at this Gibbs knew exactly why. _

_The fire that blazed in Tony's eyes when he finally met Gibbs' icy stare confirmed his Boss' suspicions. This was a look that was reserved solely for when DiNozzo felt totally and utterly desperate and impotent. Specifically, whenever Ziva was put in danger. _

_'DiNozzo, I don't like this situation any more than you, but this is just how it is. I have faith in the both of you to get this done. You just gotta have faith in your partnership, in each other and in yourselves. You can do this, and remember at this point you are just observing. Understand?'He fixed them with his famous glare, searching each of their eyes in turn for any hint of defiance to his order. At the pairs' nods he continued, 'I want you on each other's six at all times. We'll speak tomorrow, good luck,'_

_'Good luck, guys' McGee smiled sincerely and then they were gone._

_The partners stared numbly at the blank screen for several moments before Ziva finally snapped the laptop shut. The tension was palpable as both of their minds raced with possibilities of how this night could go. This was one stake out that they hoped would be uneventful. As much as Ziva wanted to find Ilan and get her vengeance, she was not willing to endanger Tony in the process. It was the reason she had not involved him initially. If there was one thing that Ziva knew with absolute certainty, and her life was often filled with the opposite, it was that losing Tony was something she could not tolerate or even begin to contemplate._

_The silence was finally broken by Ziva standing and moving towards their bathroom. She paused at the door and turned to face Tony where he remained sat on the sofa._

_'Well, it looks like I am getting dressed up for you tonight, hmm?' She smiled playfully at him, that devious glint in her eye present again for the first time in weeks. Tony had missed it more than he realised. And then she was chuckling as she shut the door carefully behind her._

_It took a couple of moments before he realised the significance of her words and where he had heard them before. _Jean Paul and Sophie Ranier. _He'd be lying if he said he hadn't enjoyed that earlier, wilder version of Ziva. But, as he lay back on the bed, _their bed_, resting his head on his crossed arms much as he had done during their short stay at the opulent hotel, he decided he might actually prefer the current, more mature but no less beautiful, version of his beloved ninja. The lust he had felt for her while undercover, or under_covers, as he chuckled softly to himself, _was still there. He was pretty sure that that would never leave. But it had been built upon. If their mutual attraction had formed the foundations for their partnership, then their shared experiences had been the bricks that built it up and this emotion that they both felt, this _**care****_,_**_ what he had come to realise was undoubtedly _**love**, _had been the cement. Gluing them together, irrevocable and inconsumable. _

* * *

_When she had finally emerged from the bathroom it had taken all his self restraint not to reach for her and draw her to him. Instead he had swallowed thickly and told her simply that she looked beautiful. _

_Ziva had been expecting some kind of remark from Tony, she was not ignorant to her beauty, she knew she was an attractive woman, it had been one of her most powerful weapons during her time in Mossad, but she had been expecting some jokey, almost lecherous comment accompanied by elevator eyes, his usual charming grin and maybe a wink. She still received the elevator eyes of course, but she had been caught off guard by his simple, almost whispered comment._

_Admonishing herself yet again for underestimating her partner she had smiled shyly and brushed past him to move to her suitcase, using the pretence of looking for something in order to escape his gaze. _

_She was not quite quick enough however to miss the emotion that swirled in his jade green eyes. An emotion that she could not yet bring herself to name, but equally could not deny existed there. Just as she could not deny feeling the same thing for him._

* * *

It was the bartender not so delicately placing their drinks down in front of them that finally snapped them both from their musings.

'Sorry Tony, what did you say?' she asked, picking up her martini and taking a delicate sip. Her eyes fluttered closed briefly and Tony had to look away before he became even more distracted from the task at hand.

He cleared his throat quickly before he answered her. 'I was saying, that considering you used to be a spy you are not being very subtle tonight, Ziva,'

'I am just keeping an eye out, Tony, which is more than can be said for you,' she smirked cheekily.

Apparently, finally doing something to actively seek for revenge for her father had lifted the cloud that had hovered over her these past few weeks and gradually, that flirty banter that made their partnership what is was, was returning.

'Oh, I've had my eye on something,' he grinned and her smirk broke into a full blown smile. She returned to her previous position, surveying the rest of the bar but continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye.

'It would make my job a lot easier if my partner wasn't so...eye catching.' he murmured quirking an eyebrow at her that caused her to break into a smile even as she tried to glare at him.

Suddenly Tony had an idea. 'Ziva do you trust me?'

His question puzzled her and she automatically surveyed the bar expecting some kind of eminent danger. Seeing nothing she turned back to him, Tony barely restrained a smile at the little frown line that appeared between her eyebrows, as it often did when she was confused.

'Of course Tony, always.'

Tony didn't respond, simply moved to stand in front of her, before taking her hand and moving backwards, leading her the short distance to the dance floor where a few other couples were swaying gently.

He almost laughed at her slightly narrowed eyes as she tried to figure out what he was doing but soon went with it. Fixing his eyes on her he wound a hand round her waist, drawing her to him as he simultaneously sought out her hand with his. He was surprised at the how easily she allowed him to gather her to him and how natural it felt as she brought one arm round to the top of his back.

Ziva gasped softly however when he pulled her so that she rested to totally against him, but quickly relaxed into his embrace, squeezing his hand gently. She waited patiently, or as patiently as could be expected from Ziva as she stared up at him expectantly, clearly wanting an explanation for their new position. When none came she quirked an eyebrow at him.

Tony chuckled softly 'You can never just enjoy the moment can you?'

Ziva continued to just stare up at him amusedly. Tony chuckled again before slowly leaning closer to whisper in her ear. His breath fanned out against her throat and she allowed her eyes to flutter closed as she enjoyed this brief moment, his hand on her waist, his warm breath drifting across the shell of her ear, caressing her neck.

'I thought this might be a more subtle way to, _keep an eye out._' He smirked, reluctantly pulling back.

They fell silent after that, softly swaying together, both looking out at the rest of the bar over the others shoulder.

'You know this reminds me of-'

'Let me guess, Tony, a movie?'

They smiled at each other, both slightly chuckling as they looked into each other's eyes, their purpose in the bar forgotten for the moment.

'You remember _Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadow?'_

'Of course I do Tony; you insisted we watch it on your tablet during the flight here,'

'Well, I kinda stole this from there. You know the bit at the ball slash peace summit thing?'

'Ah,' She said then paused, looking to her left for her moment. When she looked back that devious glint was back in her eyes and Tony playfully narrowed his eyes in faux suspicion of her.

'Really?' She asked narrowing her eyes cheekily before continuing, putting on a French accent, her voice dripping with seduction 'Well then, _What do you see?' _

Tony was confused for a moment, whether by her words or her shameless flirting he wasn't sure, but he soon caught on that she was quoting from the movie and smiled widely before playing along.

'Everything, that is my curse,' he responded dramatically, suddenly adopting a truly awful English accent that Ziva couldn't help but let a chuckle escape at.

Tony contemplated briefly that if it had been any other woman in his arms at that moment they would probably have giggled at his dramatics, but Ziva David, of course, does not giggle. No, she has that unique sexy chuckle that is utterly _her_. Until she really got going of course, then she was just freaking adorable. Tonight that didn't happen, she merely smiled up at him through her dark lashes as she chuckled. He was pretty sure no other woman could turn him on so much with such a simple, mostly innocent sound, but she could.

'Can't tell me that was a quote from a book,'

'No,' she concedes, never straying from his gaze, 'but Sherlock Holmes _was_ originally a character from a book, so _technically...'_

Tony smiled down affectionately at her before releasing a dramatic huff that had her chuckling all over again. He was sure that that sound might just be his undoing.

'I can never win with you can I?'

'No,' she smiled at him, looking away briefly 'but you wouldn't have it any other way.' She replied confidently, looking back at him with such as beautiful, beatific smile that he could do nothing but smile at her for a moment, not his usual wide grin, but a soft, intimate smile that made her heart flutter and her chest ache with longing.

'No,' he breathed, as she finally gave in to temptation and rested her head on his chest, _just for a moment _as she told herself, 'No, I most definitely wouldn't.'

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_AN/ and would you look at that! Its my longest yet! Hope you enjoyed! There just might be more to come, probably one shots based off some random Sherlock inspiration and of course other non related stories so why not hit that follow button down there? I heard cookies pop out if you do. The favourite button pops out cupcakes also. :D Much love as always xx_


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